Irregularities rife in Social Welfare Council: OAG report

The Office of the Auditor General has reported that it was denied documents related to the leasing of land being used by Kathmandu Fun Park to a private party by the Social Welfare Council (SWC). The SWC leased 60 ropanis of land in Kathmandu to a private party for Rs 202,400 per month for five years in 2004, which is less than half of the leasing amount of Rs 475,000 per month, five years ago. The OAG has reported that the lease contract caused a loss of Rs 16.35m to SWC. According to the OAG report, the SWC repeatedly extended the lease for periods ranging from three months to one year after the initial five-year period expired, instead of holding a competitive bidding process. Since such activities caused revenue loss to the SWC, the report has instructed the SWC to hold officials signing the lease contract accountable.

The OAG report also uncovered irregularities in the leasing of 25 ropanis of land occupied by the Children's Park in Bhrikuti Mandap premises. When the park was under the ownership of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the property was leased to a private party for 25 years for a fee of Rs 40,000 per month in 1996, which should have brought Rs 11.28m to the SWC in 2021/22. However, the SWC revised the contract in 1997, lowering the monthly fee to as low as Rs 5,000 per month. This resulted in a loss of Rs 8.35m to the SWC.

According to existing provisions, the assets of non-profit organizations are transferred to the Government of Nepal upon their dissolution. However, the OAG has noted that the SWC recommended the dissolution of such organizations without evaluating their assets. The OAG has recommended the formation of a team to investigate the matter and bring such assets under the government's control. Stating that many non-governmental organizations have been operating without renewing their licenses, the OAG has directed the SWC to ensure that these organizations renew their licenses as required by law and to put a stop to the ongoing practice of mobilizing foreign currency without renewing their organization. The OAG has further instructed the SWC to bring Rs 19.3m currently in the reserves of four INGOs, which are facing dissolution, into the state coffers. Additionally, it has directed the SWC to conduct evaluations and monitoring of INGOs as required by law. The OAG noted that despite raising Rs 25.68m from INGOs for this purpose, no such monitoring has been conducted in two years. The OAG found that a manager of SWC had deposited Rs 2.8m of a disabled people's fund into a finance company instead of a Class 'A' commercial bank, as required by the law. As the finance company is going into liquidation, the OAG has recommended holding the manager accountable for any possible losses incurred. In addition, the OAG has noted that more than Rs 1.60bn out of the approved Rs 1.65bn for plans and projects of various INGOs have not been included in the budgetary system of the Finance Ministry. The OAG has instructed the government to only permit the amendment of funding proposals after due process is completed.